Articles
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Refactoring MDN macros with async, await, and Object.freeze()
In January, the MDN engineering team landed a major refactoring of the KumaScript codebase, the underlying Node server that runs macros in Kuma, which is the wiki that powers MDN. This work included some modern techniques of interest to JavaScript programmers.
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Firefox 66 to block automatically playing audible video and audio
Unsolicited volume can be a great source of distraction and frustration for users of the web. So we are making changes to how Firefox handles playing media with sound and we want to make sure web developers are aware of this new audio autoplay blocking default. With the release of Firefox 66, now in Firefox Beta/Developer Edition, the browser will block audible audio and video, and will allow a site to play audio or video aloud via the
HTMLMediaElementAPI only once the user has initiated the audio. -
New in Firefox DevTools 65
We just released Firefox 65 with a number of new developer features that make it even easier for you to create, inspect and debug the web. Among all the features and bug fixes that made it to DevTools in this new release, we particularly want to highlight our brand new Flexbox Inspector and all the features and enhancements that deliver smarter JavaScript inspection and debugging.
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Firefox 65: WebP support, Flexbox Inspector, new tooling & platform updates
Firefox 65 ships today with some notable Firefox Devtools updates, including the release of the CSS Flexbox Inspector, a new changes panel, and more. We're shipping CSS platform improvements and updates to a variety of JavaScript APIs. Firefox 65 supports the WebP image format, and support for AV1, an open and royalty-free video compression format, is shipping now in Firefox 65 for Windows.
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Cameras, Sensors & What’s Next for Mozilla’s Things Gateway
With the release of Things Gateway 0.7, Mozilla's IoT team announces experimental support for IP cameras, along with support for a wider range of sensors that track temperature, leaks, and more. Ben Francis also shares plans for evolving the Things Gateway application in 2019, and exploring the value a trusted personal agent could provide to your whole home network.
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Fearless Security: Memory Safety
Memory safety violations leave programs vulnerable to security threats like unintentional data leakage and remote code execution. There are ways to ensure memory safety, including smart pointers and garbage collection. Research engineer Diane Hosfelt explains how Rust’s ownership system achieves memory safety while minimizing performance costs.
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How to make VR with the web, a new video series
Introducing a new 7-part video series with Josh Marinacci: How to make a virtual reality project in your browser with three.js & WebVR. These short tutorials show how to create an interactive 3d birthday card in WebVR that you can share and view in your desktop web browser, in a VR headset, or on a smartphone device. All you need is a little time and a little JavaScript know-how.
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MDN Changelog – Looking back at 2018
John Whitlock highlights MDN's engineering accomplishments of 2018 - including major advances in converting MDN's documentation to structured data via the Browser Compat Data project, and in extending the Interactive Examples project with CSS, JavaScript, and HTML examples. Take a look at January's planned updates, fixes, and activiites.
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Augmented Reality and the Browser — An App Experiment
What kinds of tools do artists, developers, designers, entrepreneurs and creatives of all flavors need to be able to easily make augmented reality experiences? What kinds of apps can people build with tools we provide? In this in-depth retrospective, Anselm Hook describes the challenges and learnings from creating ARPersist, an experimental AR app that lets you apply virtual post-it notes in real-world spaces.
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Designing the Flexbox Inspector
CSS Flexbox is an increasingly popular layout model that helps in building robust dynamic page layouts. However, it has a big learning curve! The new Flexbox Inspector, created by Firefox DevTools, helps developers understand the sizing, positioning, and nesting of Flexbox elements. You can try it out now in Firefox Nightly or Dev Edition.
